Since I FINALLY got a review, I decided to start this chapter early, so you can all say thank you to 'Lord Pata' so that, that's one more person taken of the hamster list, now then on with the show.

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"Now the Gate has been unlatched, Headstones pushed aside

Corpses shift and offer room, a fate you must abide" – Gravemind, Halo 3

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There was a sudden rumble, causing the entire room to shake gently, despite the apparent ferocity intended in the shake, scientist and engineers looked around worriedly before returning to their work. One man in particular was interested in the source, it had taken them years to advance their technology this far to be even to begin to scratch the surface to Cyber Space, and then they had discovered this … thing. From behind tinted and shield glass he observed their prisoner, bound by chains of nigh-unbreakable metal, in white and gold armor he was clad, behind him a pair of blue wings extended and on each palm was a colored jewel, he struggled against the restraints that held him, seeking a weakness, if any, to be able to free himself, al the while talking or muttering to himself, all of which was clearly audible through the speakers on the safe side of the glass, every few words punctuated by the rattle and strain of metal on metal.

"Cursed Humans, I demand you release me, or suffer the wrath of the Royal Knight, RELEASE ME!" there was another explosion, causing the whole room to rumble again. However there was no avail, no reply, no nothing and he slumped back against his chains, testing their strength and their resistance to his weight, and, for a brief second, the chain moved, just a few nano-meters but he could feel it, a strange grin came over his face, now he had a plan.

From behind the reinforced glass and concrete, and then behind reflected sunglasses he watched, his ramblings were most … enlightening, this one was obviously not the brains of the bunch at any rate, these so called Royal Knights

"Now if only we could get him to talk more consistently" he thought, idly tapped in the glass one pale finger.

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Their walk home was nice, the sun was setting in the sky, they had won, … well by they, Wizardmon and Gatomon had won, they had sat back and watched, although that was still pretty exhilarating, and now that Gatomon could digivolve as well, it took most of the weight of Wizardmon's shoulders, that and the fact that now he had someone else to talk too. That over-sized bird had been, as Courtnie rather nicely put it 'Royally Stuffed' which had sent the pair of them into fits if giggles.

There hands were held loosely together, indeed, discounting what had happened earlier, this was their first … intimate contact between them, there was a strangely calm attitude of mutual peace between the two, although inside they were, perhaps both a little ecstatic, something new discovered within them.

Each step up the stairs to ward their apartments felt like an eternity was slipping by in an instant, indeed, their eyes were lost within the vaulted halls of each others eyes that they failed to notice anything that happened, it would take someone else to stir them from their love-induced coma.

"'Scuse me there you two love-birds" came a jovial voice from in-front of them, in that same instant, both eye-contact and hand separated, eyes going up to see the location of the voice and hand distinctly going behind backs, and faces reddening, before them stood a jovial old man, his face hardly wrinkled despite his age, he was reasonably … large man, although he wasn't what many would describe as fat, he wasn't exactly thin either, his face was clean shaven and his hair was at that point where it was contrasted between a deep sandy blonde and aging grey. His blue eyes were deep, both in knowledge and in understanding, he was almost like a counsellor, and he and his wife had always kept a half-an-eye on everyone, always willing to help out, indeed, they had baby-sat for Alex several times when he had been a little younger.

He was carrying a huge card-board box filled with bits and pieces, the pair of them quickly divided to either side of the hall and let him pass

"Sorry Mr. Takaishi" they both mumbled, paying more attention to the floor, as he turned back around and winked at them both,

"Now don't let you're parents catch you" he said, seeming to enjoy the mixture of shock and embarrassment that had come over their faces at about the same time before giving a small laugh,

"Don't worry I won't tell them … yet!" then with another laugh he vanished down the stair to the level below them, he shared a flat with his wife just below them, so he was always close at hand.

Blushing heavily, and now both keeping a sizable distance between themselves and each other, they climbed the last few steps to their level of the flats, the walk along the row of doors was strange, it was a mixture of longing and tugging, longing to stay and tugging to leave, not the kind of emotions one wants going on in the heart at the same time.

They stopped outside of her door, stuck between each others lives, she fished her keys out of her pocket and twisted the lock open, there was a gentle click and a soft warm breeze as the door opened, she caught his eye, as she lent towards him.

"Ahem!" at that moment, they both jumped, and silently groaned at the same time, turning around, Gatomon was perched on the rail, watching them, behind her Wizardmon was standing on air, a small smile playing about his lips.

Gatomon held up two claws, forming a small V

"That's twice lovebirds, you really need to be more subtle" she said slyly, noticing heavy blushes now on both their faces, she jumped from rail onto Courtnie's back, balancing cat-like, draping her hand around her neck so she could hang on and her tail looping round her waist, then she gave Alex a long wink, causing him to blush even more.

"Err… well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then" she said, deftly grabbing the cat-digimon off her back and placing her on the ground, her face a mixture of things, then she turned and walked back into the flat. Gatomon looked at the two pairs of eyes both staring at her, she shrugged

"What?"

Then she began to glow again, as the fur began to change again, purple stripes and yellow gloves fading and turning into white fluffy fur, in a matter of seconds, she looked just like that cat she had resembled this morning, then she sauntered away, and the door closed itself behind her, Leaving the two guys alone out in the cold.

Alex nodded at Wizardmon,

"Can you do that?" he asked, strangely inquisitive and interested as to what else Wizardmon could do, after all, aren't Wizards meant to be 'magical'

Wizardmon shrugged nonchalantly "I never tried" he said, leaning on the railing,

"Maybe I will at some point, maybe I won't, both of out … abilities I suppose you could call them work in different ways, as do all digimon, some can do things others can't, whereas some can do anything they want."

Alex blinked before finding his own keys and went inside, now leaving Wizardmon alone, he paused for a moment, taking in the sunset before leaving, he knew where to go this time, and this time he wouldn't get lost.

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The evening air was cool, Wizardmon had always liked evening, they reminded him of home, not the Digital World, but somewhere much further than that, it had been a long time since he had been home, but he had always been busy, maybe he would go home some day.

There was a cool eastern breeze that flowed in and around and through the air, cooling and refreshing him, he closed his eyes, enjoying its cool touch, he could the presence of thousands of minds, below him and around him, birds, animals, humans, insects, he could see now why some Digimon chose to leave the Digital World, the Human world was so full of … life.

It was the glint of something shining off the sun that warned him, as something suddenly came hurtling up toward him, blinking himself out of his reminiscence he rolled to one side, avoiding the attack easily, as it fired on past him. Immediately, his eyes scanned the ground below him, searching with both eyes and mind, waiting, waiting, until his mind hit a solid wall, it was like Iron, an experimental tap was all he needed, someone was shielding their thoughts, which only meant one thing.

He dived, staff on hand, looking searching, waiting for the next move in the game, its was their move now, so all he had to do was anticipate what would happen and-

"Aqua Blast" from somewhere behind him, in the shadow of a building another blast came, its surface was shimmering slightly, Wizardmon blinked, bring both hand to the front, leaving his staff hanging in the air, palms extended.

"Thunder Ball"

An orb of electricity flew from his hands and collided with the other orb, causing them both to explode in a fiery detonation, throwing up a large clod of smoke. Wizardmon backed away, not wanting to get lost in the smoke, he could still feel that iron-clad wall, somewhere in front of him.

There was movement within the smoke, a single shape, a figure of some sort, a fading outline in the smoke. Wizardmon landed, this time on an open rooftop, there would be no surprises this time, if he couldn't be attacked from below then they would have to attack from above, and then they would be right where he wanted them.

He griped the staff in his hands as the smoke dissipated, he caught a glimpse of red before the figure vanished, there was a suddenly flickering in the corner of his vision as that same Iron-wall reasserted itself behind him, "Perfect" he thought, as he heard the sound of something whistling behind him, he swung round, using the head of his staff to block the incoming blow, he was surprised to find the head of a broom less then a few inches from a face, the cogs in his head began turning as it was brought back again, preparing for another blow, seizing the opportunity, he threw is own staff aside, ducked and the dived, flinging himself on his opponent, bringing them both crashing to the ground.

He pinned his mysterious attacker to the ground, pinning their arms to the ground with his hands, and then sitting on their legs, leaving them practically immobile. There was a sudden pause, he knew this person, one hand removed the heavy hat that it wore, it was red, similar to his own, a deep crimson red, with the insignia of a bat engraved in steel on the front, and even beneath his gloves her could recognize the material, the weave was unmistakable. He carefully in one hand, he now knew with out another doubt of who it was, although his expression slightly confused, her face hadn't seemed to have changed much, and neither it seemed had her expression, which was one on indignant anger,

"WIZARDMON, just what do you think you're doing" her voice was a cross between a roar and a scream, Wizardmon immediately released her, and she sprung up, grabbing her hat out of his hands and jarring it back over her head, obscuring her sandy blonde hair from view.

Wizardmon thought his reply through very, very carefully as he gave his response

"Well last time I checked Witchmon, you attacked me, not the other way round" he said calmly, watching the expression on her face grow even more incandescent.

Then she slapped him, a heavy handed and vicious slap, which knocked him back a step as he was momentarily stunned, at her sudden outbreak, then she resumed her normal and more familiar expression a pose, one of what you might call subliminal emotion.

They were very similar really, although their tastes were different, he preferred blue and beige, whilst she was more of a red and black person, their differences in gender and flying style were also apparent, she preferred the use of a broom, something he had never seen the point of, there was no real need for it in the first place, they could both fly without the need of a piece of wood, it was a focus of power not an instrument for flight.

She looked him up and down, taking in at least two years worth of changes, they had both grown, taller and in other … locations, their minds had also advanced, in both knowledge and power, although there was still that iron-clad wall between them. It was considered … impolite to read the minds of a fellow student, and despite all of those days between them that … civility still remained between them.

A gesture of her hand returned her broom to her hand, she twirled it once before sitting upon it, side-saddle, she continued to look at him, until there was a noise from behind her.

"Oh Witchmon, will you just hurry up and waste him so we can go home, its getting cold out here" the voice was defiantly female, although there was a note of command in it that was unmistakable, both Witch and Wizard blinked, turning to face the source of the voice.

It was a girl, she had thick black hair that trailed slightly in the chilling wind and her eyes were a piercing green, she was a reasonable height, about the same height as Witchmon, if a little shorter, and her features were small and compact, she was wearing a thick woolen overcoat that made her seem slightly larger than usual and her denim jeans were pristine, on her hands she wore no gloves, despite her apparent complaint about the cold. But that's not what almost knocked him off of his feet, it was what glowed on her palm, in pulsating white, an eight points star shone in her palm, all eight points facing outward and in it's center a single pulsating dot, that glowed brighter that the 8 points.

"Well!, what are you waiting for?" she asked, crossing her arms and cocking her head to one side impatiently, Witchmon blinked, before bowing her head as if in shame,

"I can't" she admitted, her hands grasping her broom, beneath the red material her knuckles were beginning to whiten. Wizardmon's expression deepened as an argument between Human and Partner intensified,

"Why Not?"

"I just can't"

"That's now a proper answer"

"Yes, yes it is!" the final word punctuated be a sudden hiss, the girl blinked, before she regained her confidence

"Fine then, as your Partner, I order you to get rid of him she said, point one slender finger at Wizardmon

"I'm sorry, but the word 'Partner' has to do with mutual cooperation so as my 'Partner' you can't order me to do anything, since we both have the same amount of authority." Witchmon snapped back, her face flushing crimson.

Wizardmon thought now would be the right time to intervene, before they both gathered too much momentum and this turned into a cat-fight rather than verbal jousting.

"Hang on … you two are partners" he said, razing an eyebrow inquisitively

Both girls turned to look at him,

"Yes, yes we are" they both mumbled quietly, and a deathly silence followed those words.

Wizardmon shrugged,

"I think I might have someone you might like to meet Miss…" he said gently, addressing the girl this time, she glared at him, her face suddenly suspicious,

"What d you mean someone?" she demanded at him, as he raised his hands in a gesture of peace, placing his palms towards her

"Peace miss, I meant someone with similar …" he tapped his the back of her hand and she looked, her attitude suddenly changed,

"You mean … there are others" she said quietly, and Witchmon looked at him, her face now as inquisitive as his had been.

"Yes, yes there are" Wizardmon replied, gesturing with one hand to a small café that lay a few streets away, just across from where they stood, overlooking the park.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow, it is a Saturday?" he asked, as the girl blushed suddenly, before mastering her emotions,

"Err… no I don't think so" she said even more quietly, and Wizardmon smiled,

"Well then I guess its official" he said, "See you at 6 o'clock" he finished, jumping into the air with about as much grace as a bird, he had always enjoyed flying and felt that using a piece of wood spoilt the experience, but that was his personal opinion. So there was now 3 of them … just great!, now he was surrounded by women, they both were, and something deep inside him was nagging him that this was not going to turn out good, not in the slightest.

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Phew!, an extra chapter because I finally got a review, and now things take an even more mysterious turn, for those of you who know you Digimon, this should have been apparent already. Ahhh… I do love a good couple of Love triangles, I am going to have a field day, now don't forget to Review 